West Midlands Police chief explains how force has improved after special measures are lifted3_150655
West Midlands' top cop believes the Black Country taxpayer is finally getting the police service they deserve after the force were lifted of special measures.
999 calls are being answered quicker, police officers are responding to emergencies faster, and what Chief Constable Craig Guildford is particularly pleased with, is more arrests are being made.
999 calls are being answered quicker, police officers are responding to emergencies faster, and what Chief Constable Craig Guildford is particularly pleased with, is more arrests are being made.
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00:00This is Express and Star with Chief Constable Guildford. What's your response to today's news?
00:05It's good news today for the people of the West Midlands and it's a great endorsement for all the effort that's gone in by our officers and staff to address those concerns,
00:15in addition to all the other work that goes on on a daily basis. So HMIC came in some time ago, they gave us some areas that we needed to improve and to look at in detail.
00:26We've done that, they've come back in and re-inspected and those three areas have been signed off and resolved.
00:32So at the moment we have one outstanding area left, which hopefully they'll come back in September and have a look at, which is the theme of investigations.
00:41But on that theme, what I would say to the public is our outcome rate has nearly quadrupled in the past 18 months.
00:48I'm very pleased with that and also I'm pleased with the effort that's gone in on behalf of the cops to improve the quality of files that we send to the CPS.
00:57So the headlines for the public are, we are arresting more people, we've opened more custody suites, we're charging more people, our outcomes are improving all the time.
01:07But most importantly, when you contact us, we pick a 999 call up in four seconds now and we also pick a 101 call up on average in about a minute.
01:17Do you think that's what the black country taxpayer, user of the services would notice the most in the last year?
01:26I think what they would notice the most is the local policing model.
01:30So area commanded by chief superintendents who have got responsibility for all the neighbourhood resources, the response resources and the local CID.
01:40Together with a good number of custody suites with plenty of en suite accommodation.
01:45How much of a difference having a custody suite so central and so close to several different urban areas is that to officers like yourself?
01:59Well it's really important because what's often forgotten with custody suites is we have a duty of care as well.
02:04So if you've got an old decrepit building, it costs you a fortune of the taxpayers money, your cash and mine, to keep it up to date.
02:12So having a facility such as Oldbury is really beneficial to us.
02:16But in addition to the capacity, I wanted to encourage more arrests.
02:20So the arrest numbers have nearly doubled. I find that a really sound statistic.
02:25And somewhere like Oldbury would have mental health professionals as well? You're working alongside them?
02:32Custody has changed dramatically. Within that custody suite are diversion workers, youth support workers, we have mental health support, we have an appropriate adult scheme.
02:42And it's built fit for purpose for the safe handling of the detainee.
02:47But also for the safety of the staff, the officers and the staff that are involved in looking after people.
02:52Because some of the people that we do come into contact with have some very acute needs.
02:56And it's our responsibility to deal with those needs, to be respectful, but to get the best out of the investigation on behalf of the victim and the public.
03:04And what are your priorities for the next year would you say?
03:07Very much my priorities are making sure that the finances work to the best effect to deliver the most officers on the front line, number one.
03:16Number two, we keep recruiting to a good local employment market of a diverse number of applicants, both officers, staff posts, got a great apprenticeship scheme.
03:26And I'm looking for local talent. We are a big employer.
03:29And then from a crime perspective, I am particularly, we're really focusing on the aspect of knife crime, particularly when it comes to young people.
03:39So from a force perspective, that certainly is a very high priority.
03:44Brilliant. Thank you very much.